PATA India Chapter is organising its 8th Update and Outlook Meeting on 21 November which will have Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Tourism who will update the attendees on the initiatives and achievements of the Ministry and will also talk about India Tourism’s advanced website, and what it can do for the members’ and attendees’ business development efforts. The event will be held at Taj Palace, New Delhi. DG Tourism will also share details on MOT’s online Tourism Education & Tourist facilitator/guide program, and how it can be used for building a tourism friendly approach. Sharma would be updating on the progress and impact of Adopt a heritage program by MOT, and how it benefits PATA India Chapter members and the tourist. In addition, she will be taking up queries of the attendees. To confirm participation for the meeting, write to manager@pataindia.org latest by November 15, 2019.

With the beginning of this year’s cruise season on November 4, the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) began its heli-tourism initiative. While the Port had been facilitating transport services like taxi and buses for the guests, the Port Trust has also allowed heli-tourism from its premises. New Delhi-based Chipsan Aviation has deployed a six-seater helicopter to ferry tourists to various toruists places like Bekal Fort near Kasargod in neighbouring Kerala, Sringeri Sharada Peetam, Chikkamagaluru and other attractions.

Scheduled from 17-19 March, with just four months short, MITT 2020 is taking shape as one of the most prominent events of the travel and tourism industry. This event will witness 1,523 exhibiting companies from 229 countries and regions of the world besides 52 regions of Russia. MITT is the largest B2B travel & tourism trade show in Russia, attracting representatives of the tourism industry from Russia, regions and all over the world.

World Travel Market kick-started in London and will be held from November 4-6. India is participating too at the WTM London 2019, one of the largest international exhibitors of the travel and tourism industry to showcase India as a preferred destination for tourism. This year, India pavilion will focus on targeting internal experiences of travellers by showcasing not only India’s culture and heritage but also niche tourism products such as cuisine, wellness, yoga, wildlife and luxury. This year, over 30 co-exhibitors/partners comprising state governments, tour operators, hoteliers, wellness centres and other stakeholders will be present at India pavilion.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently said that he is planning to connect Amritsar with the rest of the world by air. “Amritsar is not just known for the Golden Temple. It is a religious place and we have Ramtirath Temple, Duryana Temple and we have some famous churches here. This is a place which people of all religions come and seek blessings,” he said.

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) board members are all set to visit Jammu & Kashmir on November 7, 2019 to show their solidarity with the tourism industry in the UT, revealed Subhash Goyal, Hony. Secretary, FAITH. “On November 7, 2019, FAITH, along with FICCI are going to Srinagar to express  our solidarity with the tourism industry of Jammu & Kashmir. We have circulated the information regarding the same amongst all our members and we are getting a good response.”

Addressing a gathering of Indian diaspora in Bangkok, Thailand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Northeast India is being developed as a gateway to Southeast Asia. He also said that plans are on cards to establish seamless connectivity between Thailand, Myanmar and North East India in the years to come. He also said, this initiative will immensely strengthen India’s Act East Policy and Thailand’s Act West Policy.

India ranked seven in Asia-Pacific region, in terms of hosting highest number of meetings in 2018, revealed International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). India hosted a total of 158 meetings last year. Japan topped the list in the region with 492 meetings, followed by China with 449 meetings. Third in the list was Republic of Korea with 273 meetings Australia at number four with 265 meetings. Thailand (193 meetings) was ranked fifth while Chinese Taipei ranked sixth (173 meetings).

India is set to become the third largest aviation passenger market by 2040 with a total of 1.3 billion passengers, according to 2019 World Traffic Forecasts, released by the Airport Council International (ACI) World. China was placed at the first position with 3.5 billion passengers, followed by United States at the second spot with 2.9 billion passengers in 2040, in the report. Together, these three countries would handle almost 40 per cent of the global passenger traffic. India is also expected to be the third leading market for aircraft movements by 2040, after the US (23 per cent), China (16) with four per cent of global aircraft movements.

Travelling to India is affordable for almost 150 million Chinese, states a report by China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). About 0.8% of Chinese, or roughly 12 million persons, can be considered as affluent. Out of these about 30%, or 3.5 million persons, are in fact, USD millionaires. Close to 10% or 135 million persons are members of the upper-middle class.